DOLPHINS TAKE IT AWAY FROM RAIDERS

With a defender dragging him down by his facemask, Ryan Fitzpatrick still managed to launch the pass that might have saved the Miami Dolphins’ season.

Just a little more Fitzmagic.

Fitzpatrick’s desperation heave to Mack Hollins set up Jason Sanders’ 44-yard field goal as the Dolphins drove the field in the final 19 seconds to move one step closer to a playoff berth with an improbable 26-25 victory over the host Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night.

“We just felt like we needed a spark, trying to win the game,” coach Brian Flores said about the decision to bench rookie Tua Tagovailoa for Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter.

“If we have to go to a relief pitcher in the ninth, that’s what we’ll do. Fitz is always ready to go. He went in and moved the ball for us. We were able to make enough plays to win the game.”

Fitzpatrick led three scoring drives in the fourth quarter for Miami (10-5) with the final one the most unlikely after the Raiders (7-8) bypassed a gimme touchdown for a field goal. The move to play for the field goal backfired as the Raiders lost on a kick instead.

The Dolphins moved a half-game ahead of Baltimore in the AFC playoff race and can clinch a wild-card berth with a win next week at Buffalo.

“I want to go,” said Fitzpatrick, who hasn’t made the playoffs in his 16-year career. “I want to feel what it’s like. I feel like we have a special team. I’m proud I’ve been able to contribute to that.”

The Raiders were eliminated with their fifth loss in six games and will be out of the postseason for the 17th time in 18 seasons.

Coach Jon Gruden chose to run down the clock for a goahead field goal instead of trying for a touchdown with Josh Jacobs going down on purpose at the 1-yard line and Derek Carr taking a knee to set up Daniel Carlson’s 22yard field goal with 19 seconds left.

“I don’t regret it one bit,” Gruden said. “I just regret the results.”

One play was enough to move the Dolphins from their own 25 into field-goal range. Hollins was left open for a 41yard pass that Fitzpatrick threw while being dragged down by the face mask by Arden Key.

“The odds are pretty low there of us being able to complete something with the proper yardage,” Fitzpatrick said. “I didn’t know it was complete. My head was getting ripped off.”

The penalty moved the ball down to the Las Vegas 26, setting up Sanders’ winning kick.

The back-and-forth final few minutes from Fitzpatrick and Carr made up for a game that lacked offensive fireworks for most of the night. After the Dolphins tied the game at 16 with 4:01 to play, the Raiders took little time to answer.

A holding penalty on first down put them in a hole, but Carr got them right out of it when he scrambled away from pressure despite an injured groin and launched a deep pass to Nelson Agholor, who outjumped Byron Jones for the catch. Agholor then juked safety Bobby Mccain and raced to the end zone for the 85-yard score that put the Raiders up 22-16 after Carlson missed the extra point.

49ers 20, Cardinals 12: Third-string quarterback C.J. Beathard threw three touchdown passes, Jeff Wilson ran for 183 yards, and visiting San Francisco dealt a brutal blow to Arizona’s playoff hopes.

Beathard was making his first start since 2018 and was 1-9 as a starting quarterback before he was pressed into action against the Cardinals because of injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullens.

The 27-year-old wasn’t amazing but avoided big mistakes. He completed 13 of 22 passes for 182 yards, Wilson earned hard yards on the ground and the 49ers came up with two big defensive stops late in the fourth quarter, including Ahkello Witherspoon’s interception of Kyler Murray’s pass in the end zone.

The Cardinals (8-7) no longer control their own destiny in the playoff race. If the Chicago Bears win their final two games, they will reach the playoffs because of a tiebreaker over the Cardinals.

Arizona started the day positioned as the No. 7 and final team in the NFC playoff field, but the game was a struggle from the outset. The 49ers (6-9) pulled ahead 14-6 in the third quarter on Beathard’s 9-yard touchdown pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Buccaneers 47, Lions 7: Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes in the only half he needed to play and visiting Tampa Bay went on to rout Detroit (5-10), sealing a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

The Bucs (10-5) set a franchise record with 588 yards and snapped the NFL’S second-longest postseason drought behind Cleveland’s 18-year run that can end today.

Tampa Bay rested Brady ahead 34-0, its largest halftime lead in franchise history. Blaine Gabbert threw a 25yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski on his first snap, one play after Detroit running back D’andre Swift fumbled, and a 22-yard pass to Mike Evans later in the third quarter.

Brady was 22 of 27 for 348 yards with a mix of passes deep down the field and darts in traffic.

HARRY HOW GETTY IMAGES Miami’s Myles Gaskin scores a touchdown as Trayvon Mullen of the Raiders chases him. The Dolphins took the lead but needed a late field goal to win.